Shop Windows to the Universe

This towering cumulus cloud is a precursor of a cumulonimbus, or thunderstorm, cloud. These cauliflower-like clouds result from warm, moist air rising rapidly through a cooler layer. They typically have a horizontal base and a dome-shaped upper surface. Image courtesy UCAR, photo by Carlye Calvin.

Resources for Teaching About the Atmosphere

Classroom Activities - Weather and Atmosphere

Feeling the Heat Students explore the urban heat island effect by collecting and interpreting data.

Windows to the Universe Community

News

Opportunities

You might also be interested in:

Clouds can come in all sizes and shapes, and can form near the ground or high in the atmosphere. Clouds are groups of tiny water droplets or ice crystals in the sky and are formed by different processes....more

Whether it is how an artist paints the shapes of clouds or how a poet describes a gloomy weather day, there are many ways to connect the arts and culture with clouds, weather, and climate. In this section...more

A thunderstorm in the tropics can grow into a massive hurricane under certain conditions. Sometimes several tropical thunderstorms are able to organize, rotating around a central area of low pressure....more

How do we know which way a hurricane will go? Forecasters track hurricane movements and predict where the storms will travel as well as when and where they will reach land. While each storm will make its...more

When a hurricane or other tropical storm approaches a coastline, sea level can temporarily rise as much as 20 or 30 feet higher than normal. This is called storm surge. The rising water may totally submerge...more

The ionosphere can be further broken down into the D, E and F regions. The breakdown is based on what wavelength of solar radiation is absorbed in that region most frequently or on what level of radiation...more

Hail develops in a cumulonimbus cloud from graupel, large frozen raindrops, that are tossed around the cloud by wind. The top of a cumulonimbus cloud reaches to high altitudes where temperatures are cold...more